Tonight, the Congressional committee tasked with investigating the Capitol riot will hold its first public hearing in months, part of a broader push to bring public attention to the committee’s findings. Further public hearings are expected throughout the month.
Initially organized as a protest and rally for former President Donald Trump, the “Save America” rally on January 6th, 2021, escalated into a full-scale attack on the Capitol building over the course of hours. More than 130 US Capitol police were injured in the ensuing chaos, and four responding officers died by suicide in the following months. Speech platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter responded with strict moderation actions, including a network-wide ban on President Trump’s accounts.
The House committee was established to investigate the coordination of the attack, and today’s hearings are likely to be a significant step toward that goal. In a call on Wednesday reported by NBC News, a committee aide said the hearing would bring new information to light showing that the riot was the direct result of former President Trump’s efforts to remain in office after losing the election.
“We will be revealing new details showing that the violence on Jan. 6 was the result of a coordinated, multistep effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to stop the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden,” the aide told reporters, “and indeed that the former president Donald Trump was at the center of that effort.”
Where can I watch the January 6th hearing?
The hearing will be streamed live from the committee’s website and from its YouTube channel. We have also embedded the stream below so you can watch it directly from this page.
It will also be covered live by major cable news networks, including CNN and MSNBC. Notably, Fox News Channel will not be carrying the hearing, which some analysts have seen as part of a broader effort to downplay stories related to January 6th.
What time does the January 6th hearing start?
The hearing will take place on Thursday, June 9th, at 8PM ET, held by the House select committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol.
Who will testify before the committee?
Many of the details of the proceedings have been kept secret, but Politico reported Tuesday morning that the proceedings will include testimony from US Capitol police officer Caroline Edwards and a documentarian named Nick Quested who was present during the Capitol riot.
Edwards suffered significant injuries as part of the force defending the Capitol, suffering a concussion and skull injury when the crowd forced its way through a barricade. Quested was embedded with the Proud Boys during the attack, but it’s unclear what the focus of his testimony will be.
On the other side of the dais, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Liz Cheney (R-WY) will be leading the hearing on behalf of the committee.
The committee is also expected to unearth new details about the involvement of the Proud Boys, a paramilitary group who allegedly played a role in escalating the violence at the Capitol. Earlier this week, five senior Proud Boy leaders were charged with seditious conspiracy, including one member who prosecutors claim broke the first window of the Capitol building in an effort to force entry.